The instability of 'fragile families' is Sara McLanahan's research focus

cause for common concern

Jan. 26, 2013

Sara McLanahan

About the Fragile Families study

The Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study is a nationally representative survey of approximately 5,000 births between 1998 and 2000 and follow-up interviews at three-, five- and nine-year intervals. For more information, go to www.fragilefamilies.princeton.edu.

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Sara McLanahan is the William S. Tod Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs at Princeton University. She also is the principal investigator in the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study at Princeton and Columbia universities.

Fragile Families is a nationally representative survey of more than 5,000 births in major cities. Researchers conducted in-depth interviews with mothers and fathers shortly after births occurred and at intervals of three, five and nine years.

The Journal & Courier asked McLanahan to talk about her research, the trend in nonmarital childbirths, its effects on families and policy options that could mitigate the number and impact of nonmarital childbirths.

Question: What is a “fragile family,” and how is it different than any other family?

Answer: A fragile family is a family formed by unmarried parents. The word “family” is intended to highlight the fact that unmarried couples with children are indeed families, while the word “fragile” is intended to highlight the fact that these relationships are fragile, economically and socially.

Q: Nationwide, four out of 10 children are born outside a married relationship. In 1940, the ratio was closer to one in 20. What are some of the major social differences between America then and now that would help explain this tenfold growth?

A: Part of the change is due to the decline in the real wages and employment opportunities of men with a high school degree or less. These men are less able to support a family today than they were 60 years ago, and most women do not want to marry a man unless he can make a solid economic contribution to the family.

Another part of the change is due to the growing economic independence of women, which makes it easier for a single mother to raise a child alone. A third part is due to changes in social norms about premarital and extramarital sex. In the old days, if a woman got pregnant, a “shotgun marriage” often followed. This pressure no longer exists.

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Q: In the book “Marriage at the Crossroads” (Cambridge University Press, 2012) you mention that some researchers view the growing incidence of nonmarital childbearing as reflective of individual freedoms that previous generations did not enjoy to the same extent. You take a less optimistic view of the trend. Why?

A: If nonmarital childbearing were a sign of progress, we might expect the women with the most freedom — those with a college degree — to exhibit this behavior.

Instead, nonmarital childbearing is relatively rare among college-educated women and most common among the women with the fewest options. This fact suggests to me that nonmarital childbearing is not what most women want.

Q: One of the major findings of your research is that children born outside marriage are subject to greater family instability. How do you define instability, and why is that so important?

A: We measure family instability as the number of partnership changes a child is exposed to. So, if the relationship between the biological parents ends, we count that as a transition. If the mother or father forms a new partnership, that is another transition.

Most single mothers experience multiple changes in romantic partnerships despite the fact that they live alone. Family instability is bad for children because it creates uncertainty (stress) and because it undermines trust (emotional security). Both constructs are important for healthy child development.

Q: What are some national initiatives that could, in your view, help reduce some of the negative impacts of nonmarital births, and how would those initiatives over time reduce the prevalence of such births?

A: First, we need to reduce the number of unintended pregnancies. A substantial proportion of non-marital births occur to women who did not intend to have a child.

Next, we need to make sure that our tax and transfer policies do not discourage marriage.

Third, we need to do something about the high proportion of young men who are not finishing high school and spending time in prison. Prison is not a good training ground for husbands and fathers.

Q: What local initiatives have had success reducing the prevalence of out-of-wedlock births or at least improving the prospects of children and unmarried parents?

A: The Oklahoma City site of the (George W. Bush administration) “Building Strong Families initiative” achieved some success: Career academies, a school/employment program for high school students, increased marriage and union stability, some of the welfare-to-work programs — the ones that increase income as well as work — had positive effects on marriage and union stability.